The $70m Silicon Valley mega-mansion bought by a Russian billionaire... as a second home!

This is the staggering $70million mega mansion a rather well-heeled Russian has bought for himself in California’s Silicon Valley.

The housing crisis may be rumbling on elsewhere in the U.S., but investor Yuri Milner bought the 25,000-square foot, 11-acre estate…as a second home!

It was the biggest price tag ever paid in Santa Clara County, an area known for its high-priced luxury properties.

Whopping: This huge mansion is the most expensive ever bought in Silicon Valley

Imposing: Joggers look up to the mansion in Los Altos Hills, California

Sprawling: The house comprises 25,500-square-foot and sizeable grounds to boot

Empty half the time: Yuri Milner, an investor in Facebook, Groupon and Zynga, has no immediate plans to move into the home

The hilltop home, which includes its own carwash, was built in 2009 and has five bedrooms, nine baths and a tennis court.

Yuri Milner has made billions investing in companies like Facebook and Groupon

Mr Milner’s primary residence is in Moscow, where he lives with his wife and two daughters. But he is a frequent visitor to the high-tech enclave in northern California.

The 47-year-old Internet tycoon – a former particle physics graduate student - appears on the cover of the most recent issue of Forbes magazine and has invested heavily in Facebook, Zynga and Groupon through his investment firm DST Global.

His company is said to control about 10%, or $5 billion worth, of Facebook’s shares.

He also built up the Russian online company Mail.ru, which last year listed on the London stock exchange.

The home was bought from another tycoon, Fred Chan, founder of ESS Technology, who has reportedly decided to stay living in Hawaii after building the Silicon Valley mansion.

Mr Milner reportedly made the transaction through a limited liability company called La Paloma Property.

The sale was seen as a sign that the market in high-end properties on the West Coast is heating up.

‘This valley attracts money and lifestyle. We’re definitely seeing a little surge,’ Michael Sibilia, president of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors told the San Jose Mercury News.